Dr Eddy Hogg of the School of Social Policy, Sociology and Social Research (SSPSSR) will work alongside colleagues across academia and the voluntary sector to carry out a major research project into the role of voluntary action in the Covid-19 pandemic.
The first stage of the project will involve examining how prepared each of the UK’s four nations was before the pandemic hit, and what role voluntary action, organisations and volunteers played in these preparedness plans.
The research will explore what voluntary action has increased, decreased, paused or changed in nature during the pandemic, for example online activities and community self-help.
By exploring the challenges and positive examples, the research team aims to make recommendations on the role volunteering and voluntary organisations moving forward, that could inform planning for future crises and shape policy to support the UK’s economic and social recovery.
Almost £420,000 has been awarded by the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC), part of UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) for the project, which is titled ‘Mobilising Voluntary Action in the four UK jurisdictions: Learning from today, prepared for tomorrow’. This came following a rapid response call for projects which contribute to our understanding of, and response to, the Covid-19 pandemic and its impacts.
The project is a partnership between six UK universities and representatives from a variety of voluntary organisations, including the four key voluntary sector infrastructure bodies for England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. Irene Hardill, Professor of Public Policy at Northumbria University, is principal investigator of the project, with Dr Hogg leading the research in England over the next 12 months. They will work alongside Jurgen Grotz (University of East Anglia), Ewen Speed (University of Essex), Alasdair Rutherford (University of Stirling) and Rhys Dafydd Jones (Aberystwyth University).
Representatives from England’s National Council for Voluntary Organisations (NCVO), Volunteer Scotland, Wales Council for Voluntary Action (WCVA), and Northern Ireland’s Volunteer Now will work alongside the academics.
Dr Hogg said: ‘I am delighted to be leading this research in England, working with colleagues and voluntary organisations to establish how the sector has been impacted by Covid-19. Volunteers and the voluntary sector have truly stepped up during this crisis. Based in local communities and dependent on local volunteers, they have played and will continue to play a key part in our response to Covid-19.’ If we can establish how volunteering has been affected and what it has achieved, we can help the sector be better prepared for future crises.’